The technical scope of the invention is that of projectiles, notably direct-fire anti-tank projectiles, acting radially with respect to their objective.
Known projectiles comprise an explosive warhead, generally of the explosively-formed kind, whose initiation is triggered by the detection of a target by means of a sensor.
The sensors usually used employ infra-red or radar technology. Generally, these projectiles have means enabling their roll position to be controlled so as to keep their charge pointing in the required direction.
Patent FR-A-2,406,800 thus describes a projectile equipped with a radial action shaped charge. The drawback of such a charge is that it is necessary for complicated means to be provided to ensure its roll is controlled so that the charge can attain the target. These control means can only be activated once the target detection signals supplied by a high-performance nose-cone sensor have been exploited, such sensor notably being able to detect the target before the projectile has passed over it.
It would also be possible to design a projectile in which the warhead roll is stabilized so as to be permanently pointing in a vertical direction.
In addition to the sheer complexity of such a direction control, the roll stabilization of the warhead results in a reduction in the area of effectiveness of the projectile, which in this case must practically pass over its target in order to attack it.
It is notably impossible using such projectiles to attack a target placed in a different direction, for example a helicopter in low-flight located above or laterally with respect to the projectile.